IDENTITY: Daily Reading Plan #7
Ephesians 2:19-22
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
1 John 3:1-2
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Romans 8:38-39
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Becoming a child of God is seen as a great sign of love from God the Father. John specifically mentions that believers are not only "called children of God;" believers truly are God's children. This theme closely connects with the words of John 1:12: "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." God's children are those who both receive Jesus as Lord and believe in His name as the risen Messiah.
John highlights this concept using the Greek term ideate, meaning, "look at this!" The idea that God would love us enough to make us His children is just one of the amazing aspects of the gospel.
John then notes why unbelievers do not "know" believers: Unbelievers do not know Christ. As used by John, the concept of "knowing" involves more than just information. It refers to a sense of intimacy, fellowship, and connection. The unbelieving world does not have a relationship with Christ. Therefore, they have no relationship with His children. God's children are to become increasingly like the Father, regardless of whether others recognize us.
John next refers to his readers as his "beloved," or dear ones. Being a child of God is not a future event for the believer; we are His children from the point when we believe into eternity future (John 1:12). In addition, our future has not yet completely been revealed. In eternity with the Lord, believers will experience a new body and exist forever in God's presence, in a way far superior to our lives today. Some of this is simply impossible for us to understand; certain things will only be "revealed" to us once Christ appears to bring us home.
John anticipates this appearing will take place at any moment. Believers will see God "as He is" at that time and become like Him. John's words appear to closely connect with passages associated with the rapture, such as 1 Corinthians 15:50–58 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18. Jesus will appear, believers will see Him, receive a new body, and be with the Lord forever.
It is critical to notice John's point that we are not yet what we will be. John's warnings about sin and fellowship, like the rest of Scripture, recognize that even saved believers will not be perfect. The expected result of salvation is a life that grows to become more and more like Christ—but this does not mean an immediate change to perfection. God loves us enough to forgive our sins (1 John 2:1–2), and to help us overcome them (1 John 2:14; 1 John 4:4).
Reflection Questions
- What do these passages reveal about our identity?
- What does it look like to find my identity in who God says I am as belonging together as beloved children of God?
- How does seeing myself and others this way cause me to change the way I think about and act toward myself and others?
